


Into the Significant Lives of Adults

by missgoalie75



Category: Breaking Bad, Glee
Genre: Crossover, Friendship, Gen, Homophobic Language, References to Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-17
Updated: 2013-03-17
Packaged: 2017-12-05 13:24:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/723774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missgoalie75/pseuds/missgoalie75
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Seriously, this kid is going to have some fucked up problems with his hair and his </i>balls<i>. How can anyone where pants that tight? Do his balls just contract into his body? Does he not </i>have<i> balls? Does he have some sort of –</i> | In which Jesse shares a bench in LA with Blaine while waiting for a bus.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Into the Significant Lives of Adults

**Author's Note:**

> This is a crossover that takes place sometime during season 4 of Glee (around the spring) and some time after the events of season 5 of Breaking Bad, assuming Jesse manages to survive.
> 
> Title is from "Mistaken For Strangers" by The National.

Jesse had only been to LA once when he was younger: he was with his family, his brother was probably a year or two old, and they went to visit one of his dad's fraternity brothers, who was a major dick, but he bought Jesse a pack of cigarettes on the fifth day there, so maybe he wasn't a _major_ dick, but just an overall dick with moments of good character. At least in thirteen-year-old Jesse's opinion. (Although there is something pretty fucked up about giving a thirteen-year-old kid a pack of cigarettes behind the dad's back, but whatever.)

It's not like he has _fond_ memories of LA or anything, but when he's told to go there, he can't help but feel a little bit of comfort – it's not totally unfamiliar, even if he hasn't been there in over a decade. He goes in his newly purchased, boring, (most importantly) undistinguishable sedan, leaving Albuquerque behind in a cloud of red dirt and he's suddenly hit with a sharp sense of sadness; this is his _home_ , all he's really ever known and yeah, he's fucked up so much shit there, but.

(He clenches his teeth and forces himself not to fucking scream when he crosses the New Mexico border into Arizona.)

He was given an envelope of new identification papers (he's now Justin Greenberg and he considers giving the guy the middle finger because Jesse's willing to bet that the guy totally patted himself on the back for that bullshit: yes, _ha ha_ , my old last name and your new one has colors! So funny! Bitch.), and an address and key to an apartment. It takes him a little over twelve hours to get there, with bathroom and gas breaks, McDonald's making his car reek, but he was given specific instructions to go and make as few stops as possible.

Mar Vista isn't a shithole (Jesse doesn't understand this bullshit it's all fucking LA why do these neighborhoods need to feel special by having their own area?), and neither is his apartment (kitchen, living, bedroom, bathroom), but he misses his house and his bed and his stereo system and _fuck_ he's not going to cry like a little bitch, no fucking way.

(He totally does though (god _damn_ it).)

His first full day in LA is spent in his apartment, smoking up and attempting to find the motivation to buy alcohol, but the only motivation he has is to walk to the kitchen to eat all the food he bought last night (that he ends up puking later because he still _sees_ shit). But the next day is worse because he's sober and starving and he really needs to go shopping and find a job and just _live_ his fucking life, that's what he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for, right? New life, fresh start, a second chance?

He would think it's bullshit because _second chances_ are kind of like unicorns to him – he's never seen one and there's no fucking way they're real – but it's nice having this weird sense of calm, knowing that no DEA or cartel is going to smoke him out.

Eventually by the end of the week, he's looking for a job (not that he actually needs one since he's set for life, but at least that would give him something to _do_ ) and he's pretty limited, just like before, but at least he has a fucking roof over his head this time around, so he's not complaining. In fact, he goes into a store that sells lab equipment and asks for a resume, but he doesn't impress the employees and even though he shows off his knowledge ( _well, Mr. White, at least I managed to learn something from you_ ), they politely decline.

Jesse ends up taking a job as a bag boy in a local food market. Not very glamorous or high paying, but it's mind numbing, which is what he wants.

By the end of his first month, he figures out the drug territories and he's running out of weed, but he doesn't think he'll be buying; this time around might be easier to stay sober without _murder_ on the agenda. Instead, the time he'd spend getting high is now time to explore LA, figure shit out because he fucking hates not knowing where he is and wandering around with his head up his ass.

One day, he ends up on the side of LA where _actors_ and _actresses_ and _singers_ crawl the streets, auditioning, hoping for a better life and he just wants to go up to the bitches crying on the sidewalk and say: Yo, if this is the biggest problem in your life, then consider yourself lucky, bitch. This shit ain't _nothing_ compared to what's out there.

It's why he's been avoiding this part of the city, but he's determined to at least be familiar with it, so it's a _necessarily evil_ , as Mr. White would probably say (but he doesn't want to think about Mr. White or _anything_ ).

But after a half hour, he's had enough and he's waiting for the bus. Since the most recent one just drove off as he was turning the block, he pulls out his pack and lighter for a smoke.

There's someone sitting on the bench already and he's wearing the weirdest fucking clothes Jesse has ever seen: who wears tight, _colorful_ pants that are way too short and a fucking _bowtie_? He's never seen anyone dress like that in real life – no way anyone would dress like that in his neighborhood unless you wanted to be called a faggot and get the shit kicked out of you. But since this is LA, where guys dress as chicks all the time without anyone blinking, Jesse thinks this guy must feel right at home.

When Jesse sits down on the other end of the bench, he brings the lighter to his cigarette, but after a few clicks and no flame, he resigns himself to the fact that he needs to toss it. He takes the cigarette out of his mouth with a sigh, turning his head to the left to see the guy – actually, Jesse thinks he's a _kid_ – with his head down, reading a book, one leg crossed over the other and Jesus Christ, his _hair_ is totally plastered down with _glue_. Seriously, this kid is going to have some fucked up problems with his hair and his _balls_. How can anyone where pants that tight? Do his balls just contract into his body? Does he not _have_ balls? Does he have some sort of –

"May I help you?"

Jesse blinks and fuck, that kid is now staring at him expectantly with wide, blinking eyes and he's pretty sure dudes aren't supposed to have girly eyes like that.

"Uh, no, sorry," Jesse says, shaking his head until he remembers his cigarette and asks, "Actually, yeah – do you have a light?" because he's been in the drug business for too long and he knows everyone has their vices, including kids who dress like that.

The kid shakes his head and smiles apologetically. "I don't, sorry, but my brother does, if you're willing to wait for a few minutes. He should be done soon."

"Oh, cool, thanks."

The kid nods and goes back to his book, humming a little under his breath and Jesse almost laughs because he was just listening to the Black Keys this morning and he kind of figured that the kid was into…girly pop, that Lady Gaga bullshit that makes his ears bleed.

Jesse looks over and the kid is staring at him again, his eyebrows furrowed.

"I, uh – '10 AM Automatic' is a great song," Jesse stutters as he rolls his cigarette between his fingers.

The kid beams and of course he has perfectly straight, white teeth. "A friend of mine burned me a few of their CDs and I really like them."

"You have a favorite?"

" _El Camino_ or _Rubber Factory_ at the moment. You?"

" _Brothers_ , butthose albums are great too."

The kid closes his book a little and Jesse can make out _Metamorphosis_ and –

"Kafka," Jesse murmurs, remembering hearing it in the therapy group and throwing _Kafkaesque_ around to his friends and _fuck_ , he's been trying not to think of them either –

"Yeah, I have to read it for school," the kid says, looking at the cover, scrunching his nose a little and it reminds him of Brock, making his heart ache.

"Is it any good?" Jesse asks, curious.

"It's…strange," the kid answers slowly. "It's about a traveling salesman who inexplicably starts turning into some sort of bug-creature-type."

Jesse raises his eyebrows. "Seriously? What the fuck?"

The kid sighs. "Yeah."

Now Jesse is just confused because how the fuck does working in a laundry place with assholes possibly be similar to a man changing into a _bug_? Maybe he should pick up a Kafka book since he has nothing better to do these days.

"It would probably be best to read his other works before having an opinion about him," the kid continues, a thoughtful expression on his face, "hopefully his other works are a bit more…pleasant. But since Kafka is synonymous with surreal, nightmarish situations, I doubt that'll be the case."

Well, Jesse can certainly say that his life has been a fucking _surreal, nightmarish situation_ , that's for damn sure. And fuck that shit he's not reading Kafka now.

The kid pulls back the sleeve of his shirt to look at his watch. "Ugh, come on Cooper," the kid groans.

"Your brother?"

"Unfortunately."

"What's he auditioning for?"

The kid looks up in thought and Jesse is creeped out by the fact that this kid's eyelashes are longer than any girl's he's ever known, or fucked for that matter. "I think this one is for a movie."

"Is he famous?"

"Who, my brother?"

"Yeah, like. Has he been in anything?"

"You'd probably know him."

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

Jesse waits to hear who the guy is, but the kid doesn't say anything, just smiles at him pleasantly. "What, you're not gonna tell?"

"No. You'll see in a bit."

"What if my bus comes first?"

"I'll tell you as the doors are closing."

Jesse shakes his head and laughs a little. "How old are you?"

"Eighteen," the kid answers and yeah, that sounds right.

"Senior in high school?"

"Yeah, graduating in a few months." The kid looks down and smiles sheepishly. "It's scary, but. I'm excited for college."

Jesse nods even though he doesn't understand at all – he had _no_ desire to go to college when he was eighteen. The only reason why he even finished high school in the first place was to make his aunt happy. "Do you, uh…know where you're going?"

The kid shakes his head. "No, I'm starting to hear back from schools, so I'm still deciding. That's why I'm here besides visiting my brother – I'm looking at UCLA and USC again to get a feel of what campus is like with its students, since I visited over the summer a few months ago."

"Oh…so if you're not from here, where do you live?"

"Ohio."

"What's there?" Jesse asks before he can stop himself. It's stupid coming from him since New Mexico doesn't have shit going for it either.

"Nothing," the kid answers dryly.

"Well…if it makes you feel any better, New Mexico doesn't have shit either. That's where I'm from."

Technically, he's supposed to be from Colorado or Arizona or some shit, but Jesse seriously doubts this kid is going to double-check or anything. Besides, he has a _great, bright future_ ahead of him. Jesse will just be some weird guy he met at an LA bus stop that he'll forget about by the time he goes off to college.

The kid smiles at him and maybe he recognizes that Jesse clearly misses New Mexico and maybe this kid is realizing that no matter how much Ohio may suck, it's still going to be home on some level.

"So, uh…what are you doing in LA? If you don't mind my asking," the kid adds quickly, his cheeks turning pink and Jesus, he's _so_ gay and it's kind of weird, but it's not like he's hitting on him or anything. (He'd totally tell Badger that he's full of shit, that not all gays try to butt-rape you, but he never see him again.)

"Nah, it's cool, uh. I just got here. I'm figuring shit out. In between jobs." He'd probably laugh at that, but it really just makes him sick.

The kid nods and you know what, Jesse really likes this kid. He knows what he looks like to other people – the baggy clothes and the tattoos and the way he talks get him labeled and judged fast. But this kid hasn't side-eyed him once, hasn't treated him with anything other than respect and it's so fucking new and almost uncomfortable because he's not used to it (and to be honest, he doesn't think he deserves it all that much).

He almost wants to thank the kid, for giving him something good here, but that would be stupid and embarrassing. And then, to his horror, Jesse almost admits that he's sort of, but not really thinking about going to college also. Obviously not anything like UCLA, but maybe a community college? To keep himself busy? Expand on his chemistry?

"Baby bro!"

Jesse and the kid whip their heads around to see a guy strolling out of a building with a huge smile on his face. "I would apologize for keeping you, but that would imply that I'm sorry that I got a callback!"

The kid's jaw drops before he says, " _Really_? That's amazing!" before jumping to his feet and quickly going over to his brother, hugging him and Jesse _totally_ knows that guy.

Jesse slowly stands up and the kid has let go of his brother, smiling at Jesse, who points at Cooper and says, "Oh my _fucking_ god. You – you're – that _fucking_ commercial jingle always gets stuck in my head." Even now, _FreeCreditRatingToday.com, slash savings!_ is ringing in his head. "I promised myself if I ever saw your face, I'd tell you to go fuck yourself, so. Go fuck yourself." Then he remembers. "Can I have a light?"

The kid's eyes are wide and _Cooper_ is just smiling along and pulling out a lighter and tossing it to him. "Here you go," he says with a fucking wink.

Jesse eyes him. "Thanks," he responds slowly, lighting the end of his cigarette before taking a long drag, careful to exhale it away from them.

"So, yeah. My brother. Cooper Anderson. You are familiar with his work," the kid says, trying to make this situation less awkward.

Jesse nods as he tosses the lighter back. "Yeah, you can say that." He takes another drag of his cigarette and from the corner of his eye, he can see his bus turning the corner. "Fuck, I have to go." He drops the cigarette and puts it out with his show. "Uh, it was nice meeting you guys."

"Yeah, nice talking with you…?"

"Jesse," Jesse answers before remembering that _no_ , he's _Justin_ now, but whatever, it's not like he's going to see this kid again and he's definitely not going to be seeing _Cooper Anderson_ since his face makes him want to punch someone. He waves at them and then walks over to stand on the edge of the sidewalk for the bus.

"Bye, Jesse!"

When Jesse realizes he still doesn't know the kid's name, turns around and asks, "What's your name?"

"Blaine."

Jesse furrows his brow. "The major appliance?"

Blaine fucking grins in a mix of shock and amusement and oh Christ, that was totally from a girl movie he watched in freshman year in order to get a blowjob (it would be his first one when he wasn't stoned or drunk).

"I only knew that because I watched it to get to third base in high school!" Jesse adds defensively as the bus coasts to a stop.

"An honorable endeavor," Cooper says and Jesse isn't sure if he's being serious or not.

"You still know it!" Blaine says with a happy grin and Jesse can't help but smile a little.

Jesse gets on the bus and manages to score a window seat and Cooper and Blaine are still standing there, smiling and waving. _What a weird fucking family_ , Jesse thinks, but he's kind of jealous of them since he won't be able to see his little brother again. As the bus pulls away, he gives them a final wave goodbye.

When he finally makes it back to his apartment after two bus transfers, he walks around until he finds a bookstore.

No, he's not going to buy _Kafka_ and try to be a smart person, but he's been thinking of buying _I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell_ for a while since he heard good things about it and it seems more his kind of thing.

(Except he totally buys _The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka_ because hey, if Jesse can have a second chance at a decent life, then he can at least do the same with this guy, or at least not immediately judge him without knowing everything, since Jesse hates it when it's done to him. Wow, look at him, he's a motherfucking adult, _bitch_.)


End file.
